Born As The Daughter of a Lowly Concubine - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Born the daughter of a concubine of the lowest rank.
Episode 60
It was a day when the rebels had been apprehended and the Court, which had been in disarray, seemed to be gradually settling into calm.
Seong Yoon received a summons from the Sovereign.
The Crown Prince was also at the Sovereign’s side.
Following behind the Sovereign as he treaded through sodden earth—dampened by days of unceasing rain—Seong Yoon found himself in the Royal Garden, a place seldom visited.
Seong Yoon recalled the seditious incidents that had occurred in this garden years ago, though he could not know whether the Sovereign remembered them as well. Yet watching the Crown Prince’s gaze drift toward the pond and his brow furrow slightly suggested he might harbor the same thoughts.
“How have you been of late?”
“Through Your Majesty’s boundless grace, I pass my days in utmost peace.”
“It seems palace life has grown familiar to you. Your tongue has grown smooth.”
The Sovereign often summoned Seong Yoon in this manner.
Though he must have read countless reports concerning developments in the Northern Region, he would sometimes call him forth again to question him anew, or wish to hear how the Capital City had changed since his return.
And from some point onward, he had grown curious about what conversations Seong Yoon held with the young Princess.
“The Princess does not trouble you, I trust?”
“Her Highness the Princess is both keen-witted and gracious. How could I harbor such thoughts?”
“Speak plainly.”
“Once I tasted the Egg Honey Cake that Her Highness the Princess bestowed, I could not help but count the days until she might call upon me again.”
“Heh.”
The Sovereign laughed somewhat helplessly at Seong Yoon’s half-joking remark.
Though it sounded like jest, there were not few such people within the Palace.
Of late, there were even those approaching the Princess’s attendants to learn how to make it themselves.
Though he had not faced the threat of poisoning as the Crown Prince had, Seong Yoon had experienced poison, and so strict measures were enforced regarding the Princess’s food. Those who attempted it failed and were dragged away.
“Has your resolve not yet wavered?”
“How could one so incompetent and weary serve as Your Majesty’s minister?”
Years before, a young man had departed willing to stake his life, saying he possessed a wish worth trading his very existence for. Now he returned with exhausted eyes, speaking of desiring nothing.
The Sovereign did not press further, for he could only surmise that those tired eyes were linked to a matter concerning someone, and he had no wish to reopen some hidden wound.
Among those of the Chae-tam-in, there were many without family. Those who departed staking their lives were such men.
“Indeed. I would not grant you a Provincial Governor Position, so how could I hold you here? Yet seeing you remain at the Palace and not depart suggests you harbor no distaste for life here.”
He had kept one who seemed ready to depart at any moment under the guise of instructing junior scholars, though truthfully he held little expectation.
“Though it shames me to speak, if Your Majesty would permit, I should wish to remain at the Palace for some time yet.”
“Did you not speak of wishing to depart?”
From the lips of Seong Yoon, who had seemed ready to return to his hometown at any moment, came unexpected words.
“If Your Majesty permits, I wish to serve at the side of Her Highness the Princess.”
“The Princess, rather than the Crown Prince?”
It was not a welcome utterance. Yet Seong Yoon answered with practiced ease.
“Would serving the Crown Prince not be the beginning of hardship? Your Majesty has already appointed capable talents to the Crown Prince. How could one of my meager abilities serve His Highness? I wish only to spend my remaining years in comfort and peace.”
“But why the Princess?”
The Sovereign was aware that Seong Yoon had grown intimate with Si-a of late, yet he had never imagined such an outcome.
In truth, since Si-a had ingested poison, those around her had taken some care for her safety, but what danger could threaten the Princess?
If Seong Yoon were to attend the Princess, peace would surely follow—but what reason could drive this young Princess to such devotion?
The Sovereign’s question was just.
And Seong Yoon’s answer was unexpected.
“I apologize for my presumption, but gazing upon Her Highness the Princess, whose thoughts I cannot fathom in the slightest…….”
“Cannot fathom?”
“I find myself overcome with concern, and my feet cannot bring themselves to depart.”
“……Is that so?”
Suddenly the pale face of his daughter, who had knelt before the Queen Mother’s Hall not long ago, returned to mind.
In memory, that child always wore a bright smile, yet the daughter he had not seen for some time was wan and wasted away. He had sought to punish the palace attendants who had failed in their duty to attend the Princess, but the Queen Consort had stopped him.
‘It is not the attendants’ fault, Your Majesty.’
‘What do you mean, Queen Consort?’
‘How can the Princess’s sleeplessness born of anxiety be the fault of those below her?’
The Queen Consort’s face, as she spoke, likewise seemed deeply worn and fatigued.
Upon reflection, though she was a cherished daughter, he scarcely knew her well.
The Sovereign was always occupied, and his closest child must inevitably be the Crown Prince. So it had been with the dead Crown Prince Seongwon; so it remained with the present Crown Prince.
He visited the child from time to time, saw her face, exchanged trivial conversation, and that was all.
Perhaps the most candid conversation he had held concerning her was not long ago, regarding the Deposed Prince.
‘That child suffered so greatly, yet I perceived nothing.’
In memory, Si-a always laughed brightly, eating some delicacy.
From her earliest days, she had rarely thrown tantrums or caused trouble, a child who did not demand his attention.
Yet if one thought back, in her infancy, that child would weep so desperately when left without someone she could trust near her that she would nearly gasp for breath.
How could he not have known that resentment and fear dwelled in that child’s heart?
Perhaps he simply hadn’t wanted to know.
If that was true, what had Seong Yoon—a boy who’d known Si-a for only a few months—seen in her?
The king’s question drew an unexpected answer from Seong Yoon.
“In truth, Your Majesty, I once spoke to the princess about the beggars living under the bridge.”
“Si-a is a curious child.”
He’d heard that she’d questioned Seong Yoon about the Northern Region too. There was nothing strange about her being curious regarding the sights within the nearby Capital City. He would have preferred she heard only pleasant stories, but Seong Yoon had made no effort to conceal their harsher aspects.
“Among the beggars, there are not a few orphaned children without parents, a fact I also mentioned to the princess. Upon hearing this, the princess said that with the monsoon approaching and heavy rains soon to come, those children would have nowhere to shelter, and she wished to provide them with a place where they might escape the wind and rain. She then gave me her personal funds, saying they came from the lands granted to her at her investiture.”
“……!”
“Si-a did this.”
Both the king and the Crown Prince wore expressions of shock. By contrast, Seong Yoon’s face seemed almost pleased.
Even the Crown Prince, who saw Si-a face-to-face often, was as bewildered as the king to learn of this side of the princess for the first time.
“Yet such an act cannot save all the people.”
“The princess did not think she must save everyone at once, Your Majesty.”
She said that even in summer, people would suffer cold while the rain fell.
Though the king summoned Seong Yoon and offered him rare delicacies that commoners could never see, the princess spoke differently.
The monsoon would begin soon, she’d said. Let us at least ensure that, as quickly as possible, they might sleep in a place with a roof and walls.
“The princess told me that waiting for the state to act would be too slow, and that those who can help now must do so. She asked this of me.”
The words of a child weighed heavy upon the king’s shoulders.
Here was a child doing what she could, yet why could he himself do nothing?
He had heard of beggars gathering to live under the bridge, yet he had done nothing.
The ministers who spoke of shunning luxury and putting the people first, the Remonstrance Censorate—none of them had opened their own coffers to act on such concerns.
“A hundred thoughts cannot equal a single deed. I am lesser than a child in this.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Crown Prince, do not forget this: the heart of that young princess is the very heart a sovereign must hold for his people.”
“Yes, Father. I shall not forget.”
The Crown Prince bowed deeply and sat in thought.
Si-a’s interest in the marketplace must have begun on the Fourth Day of the Fourth Month, when they’d gone together to the Lantern Festival Game.
They had spent the day together, after all.
‘Did Si-a see something that day that I did not?’
He was ashamed that he’d been so distracted by a woman that he hadn’t noticed the people around them.
The misunderstanding between the confused father and the princess deepened in secret.
***
It was some time after the monsoon had cleared.
Word reached me—as I sat playing a stacking game with the young attendants, eating candied fruit—that the king and Crown Prince had learned of my having provided shelter for the beggars.
“Huh?”
I’d only specified the size and asked for it to be made, yet a wooden piece, painted in cheerful colors and lacquered smooth by craftsmen, had somehow become “the princess’s toy”—and when I was startled, it tumbled cleanly to the floor. The young attendants sighed in disappointment.
Had they expected me to lose focus from the shock?
“It is being said that the princess used her personal fortune to look after the welfare of the people, my lady.”
“How did that become gossip……?”
“The rumor is already spreading widely throughout the Capital City.”
How could that possibly become gossip?
If it had spread, there was only one suspect.
‘Did I not tell them to keep quiet……? But I wouldn’t have revealed my identity to those children, so why would they spread word?’
Those children couldn’t have known who I was, and there was no reason for Ga-i to tell them, so I’d thought it wouldn’t spread.
Ga-i, who had worn a rather grim expression at the time while hastily scraping together the funds, now smiled brightly at me. The ornamental jewelry the queen had given me ensured that money wouldn’t be tight for a while, at least.
“I had to tighten my belt for some time to gather that sum, but everyone is praising the princess now, so I too am delighted.”
“Mm. I’m sorry.”
“How can you speak such words, my lady? With your heart so deep in concern for the people, how could I harbor complaints?”
That sounded like a complaint to me.
Of course, the jade bracelet I’d given her gleamed at Ga-i’s wrist as she spoke.
Most of the other attendants had received small rings, but I’d given better gifts to those who’d suffered most.
I watched the young ones remove their wooden blocks one by one, and I succeeded in gently sliding out the block at the spot I’d marked beforehand.
Praise for me—it was absurd and astounding.
I had acted with genuine kindness, but all I’d really done was worry a little over someone I’d actually met.
Apparently, public opinion of me had somehow improved because of it.
There was already sympathy for a princess who’d lost her mother young and survived poisoning threats, and now with this anecdote, people seemed to view me as even more admirable, pitiful, and…… well, something like that had taken root.
‘Well then, I’ll just accept it as it is.’
There was nothing wrong with being well-regarded by the people right now.
Of course, public opinion would turn in an instant if I ever found myself embroiled in scandal.
Unlike my tepid mood, Ga-i seemed pleased.
“It is said that Your Highness the Princess truly sets an inspiring example for all members of the royal house.”
I hadn’t expected such high praise, truly.
I watched a young attendant’s hand tremble as she extracted a block, and finished chewing the candied fruit I’d left half-eaten.
It wasn’t my turn yet—if she collapsed it now, that would’ve been convenient. The children had done this enough times that their technique had improved.
‘If I mess this up, I’m lucky it’s only because I’m a princess?’
If I were a prince, I’d have to drink and pretend to be mad just to survive.
I reached toward the wooden tower, now quite frayed and weathered.
“Moreover, it is said that the Sovereign himself spoke of Your Highness’s actions at court today and rebuked the ministers.”
“What?”
Crash—
The block I’d been carefully extracting slipped from my fingers, and the tower, which had been precariously standing, collapsed. The young attendants clapped soundlessly.
Like a proper loser, I wordlessly pushed the tray of candied fruit toward the children.
Ga-i let a faint smile linger at the corner of her mouth and continued.
“The Sovereign said that even Your Highness, still so young, steps forward thinking of the common people, yet among the ministers living in the Capital City, there is none who takes the lead in such matters……”
Surely he didn’t just use my name to scold the ministers, did he?
And this, not long after a reign of blood from the treason case?
“Especially, he lamented that even among the Remonstrance Censorate, none have come forward in such endeavors, and it is said that all the ministers hung their heads in shame.”
Hmm. This is rather…
‘The Sovereign seems intent on using this for political gain?’
Not that it matters much to me.
The Sovereign, who orchestrated the whole affair before I was even targeted, will handle the consequences himself.
Still, there was something I needed to settle on my end.
“I need to call for Seong Yoon.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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